If one manages to graduate from high school without the rudiments of algebra, geometry and trigonometry, there are certain relatively high-paying careers probably off-limits for life -- such as careers in architecture, chemistry, computer programming, engineering, medicine and certain technical fields. For example, one might meet all of the physical requirements to be a fighter pilot, but he's grounded if he doesn't have enough math to understand physics, aerodynamics and navigation. Mathematical ability helps provide the disciplined structure that helps people to think, speak and write more clearly. In general, mathematics is an excellent foundation and prerequisite for study in all areas of science and engineering. So where do U.S. youngsters stand in math?

Drs. Eric Hanushek and Paul Peterson, senior fellows at the Hoover Institution, looked at the performance of our youngsters compared with their counterparts in other nations, in their Newsweek article, "Why Can't American Students Compete?" (Aug. 28, 2011), reprinted under the title "Math Matters" in the Hoover Digest (2012). In the latest international tests administered by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, only 32 percent of U.S. students ranked proficient in math -- coming in between Portugal and Italy but far behind South Korea, Finland, Canada and the Netherlands. U.S. students couldn't hold a finger to the 75 percent of Shanghai students who tested proficient.

What about our brightest? It turns out that only 7 percent of U.S. students perform at the advanced level in math. Forty-five percent of the students in Shanghai are advanced in math, compared with 20 percent in South Korea and Switzerland and 15 percent of students in Japan, Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Canada.

Hanushek and Peterson find one bright spot among our young people. That's Asian-American students, 52 percent of whom perform at the proficient level or higher. Among white students, only 42 percent perform math at a proficient level. The math performance of black and Hispanic students is a disaster, with only 11 and 15 percent, respectively, performing math at the proficient level or higher.

The National Center for Education Statistics revealed some of the results of American innumeracy. Among advanced degrees in engineering awarded at U.S. universities during the 2007-08 academic year, 28 percent went to whites; 2 percent went to blacks; 2 percent went to Hispanics; and 61 percent went to foreigners. Of the advanced degrees in mathematics, 40 percent went to whites; 2 percent went to blacks; 5 percent went to Hispanics; and 50 percent went to foreigners. For advanced degrees in education, 65 percent went to whites; 17 percent went to blacks; 5 percent went to Hispanics; and 8 percent went to foreigners. The pattern is apparent. The more rigorous a subject area the higher the percentage of foreigners -- and the lower the percentage of Americans -- earning advanced degrees. In subject areas such as education, which have little or no rigor, Americans are likelier -- and foreigners are less likely -- to earn advanced degrees.

In a New York Times article -- "Do We Need Foreign Technology Workers?" (April 8, 2009) -- Dr. Vivek Wadhwa of the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University said "that 47 percent of all U.S. science and engineering workers with doctorates are immigrants as were 67 percent of the additions to the U.S. science and engineering work force between 1995 to 2006. And roughly 60 percent of engineering Ph.D. students and 40 percent of master's students are foreign nationals."

American mathematic proficiency levels leave a lot to be desired if we're to maintain competitiveness. For blacks and Hispanics, it's a tragedy with little prospect for change, but the solution is not rocket science. During my tenure as a member of Temple University's faculty in the 1970s, I tutored black students in math. When they complained that math was too difficult, I told them that if they spent as much time practicing math as they did practicing jump shots, they'd be just as good at math as they were at basketball. The same message of hard work and discipline applies to all students, but someone must demand it.

The message of the OP should be made every day in the USA. I’m one of those who managed to graduate with a BS Degree without algebra skills. This was 35 years ago. It has always bothered me that I don’t posess math skills beyond the very basic.

I’ve made an attempt to correct this by first self-study of basic math and pre-algebra and now I’m taking elementary algebra at my local community college. At age 54, I’m one of the older students in the class, probably the oldest.

Almost everyone in my class above age 30 is in some sort of health care field and trying to advance. It is a shame that the public schools don’t stress math more and that we only get serious about it after we are sick of not having the skills that are necessary to achieve advanced knowledge in most technical fields.

The youngsters, those who are just out of high school seem to posess a serious attitude problem.

3
posted on 02/22/2012 4:38:58 AM PST
by fatboy
(This protestant will have no part in the ecumenical movement)

WW nails it as usual. I graduated high school in 1966 on an academic track. I was required to pass Algebra I and II, Plane and Solid Geometry and Trigonometry. My school had Calculus available but I opted not to take it. I can't remember much of the Algebra but the Geometry has stayed with me and has been of direct use several times in my career as a lawyer. More importantly, the logical and analytic tools I acquired in high school math have been crucial to my survival and advancement in life.

It is a travesty that a student can get out of high school without mathematical training. It is also a travesty that students are not required to take two years each of Latin and a modern foreign language as I was, but that is a topic for another thread.

Nos genuflectitur ad non princeps sed Princeps pacem!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

It’s not just an attitude problem, fatboy, it’s that “math is hard,” to quote my neighbor’s high school teenager.

When I was in high school just 10-15 years ago, we weren’t allowed to use calculators in math class. Our teachers were smart and assigned us the odd-numbered problems for math homework, because the even-numbered problems were solved in the back of the book.

*The trick here, I learned, was to DO the even-numbered problems to make sure that I had the concepts down, then do the homework. Yes... I did double my math homework, but I didn’t care.

Nowadays, kids can’t tell time on an analog clock. I had some kid ask me what time it was in the mall. I was on the phone with my fiancee and just flashed my watch at him. He looked at me and said, “Dude, I can’t read that.” No kidding.

Just a few weeks ago I was at a local Publix in the aisle where they sell beer. Miller started selling Miller Lite in 9-packs of 16 oz. beers (144 oz.). A very... white... gentleman with a very tanned neck *wink* went to grab a 12-pack of Miller Lite cans, and I stopped him.

I said, “You can get a 9-pack of 16 oz. cans for a dollar less than that 12-pack, and it’s the same amount of beer.” He looked at me cockeyed.

“That’s less than this here 12-pack, son,” he said to me.

I corrected him, “Actually, nine 16 oz. beers is 144 oz. as is twelve 12 oz. beers. It’s the same quantity for less!”

“That don’t make no sense,” he says, “Why would they sell the same product for less?”

He proceeded to the checkout with the 12-pack. Simple math.

I spent many a night banging my head against my dorm room wall over complex calculus problems for my engineering classes. I actually failed a course called Discrete Math three times. It dealt with path weighting and the like. Now that I work in IT and have actually drawn up network path weighting and priority diagrams, QoS, etc. I could probably ace the class.

The problem, as I see it, is a lack of two things: 1) motivation & 2) practical application. When I was in high school, I could relate to my math homework, because I was also a gearhead and a carpenter’s apprentice using math every day. I used to take apart microwaves and my Nintendo just because I could. I took joy in plugging my voltmeter into wall sockets to check output. I wired my first circuit breaker as a 13 year old. I was motivated to do well, because I wanted to continue to learn and build upon what I already knew; and I was practically applying my knowledge to my skills.

Kids today have smartphones, iPads, iPods, PS3, XBOX, cable TV, Facebook, YouTube, laptops, video games, etc. I tried to explain the very simple formula of Wattage = Amperage x Voltage when my neighbor’s teenager was trying to find a charger for his laptop. I explained to him that if he used one that put out too much amperage, it’ll fry his battery. He was more concerned with finding a charger with a plug that fit his laptop. His battery overheated while charging and melted the wires going to his wireless NIC. Now he wants me to fix it.

Sadly, future generations are going to be asking Asian kids to fix their problems. Ignorance truly is bliss.

6
posted on 02/22/2012 4:56:31 AM PST
by rarestia
(It's time to water the Tree of Liberty.)

Are they brighter? Perhaps. But perhaps no brighter than the rest of us.

But what they have in spades is a cultural discipline that says: Do Good in School and Life Will Be Better For You. And that discipline is strictly enforced, father to son and mother to daughter. Tight disciplined and hard working families are what lead Asian kids to success in school.

You’re right. We are turning out fewer and fewer graduates that know what they are doing when it comes to science, technology, engineering, and math. In particular this is worrisome to engineering-based defense contractors (ie. not services based) who need a steady supply of scientists and engineers - who are US citizens and can obtain a security clearance. I don’t think it is a problem yet, but the trends are alarming enough that several of them have taken notice and are taking action. (eg. Raytheon’s MathMovesU initiative, see http://www.mathmovesu.com/#/home)

I was in a fast food joint a number of years ago when the cash register stopped working during my transaction. The kid behind the counter couldn’t figure out my change when I handed him a 20. He had to call in the manager. The manager pulled out his calculator to figure it out.

Despite my young age of 32, I believe mine may have been one of the last generations to receive a thorough education. I learned cursive, how to determine change, how to tell analog time, and my multiplication tables over 25 years ago.

I was at WalMart yesterday, and the cashier accidentally keyed in $30 over the amount paid in cash. She had to get a handheld calculator out to figure out that she had to give back $30 less than what was on the screen. This girl had to be 18, maybe 20.

Everytime I pay in cash, which is often, I do the quick math in my head to figure out how much change I should get back. These kids rely on computers and machines to do their thinking, and I’ve more than once caught them giving me incorrect change. It’s pitiful, really.

14
posted on 02/22/2012 5:33:46 AM PST
by rarestia
(It's time to water the Tree of Liberty.)

Are they brighter? Perhaps. But perhaps no brighter than the rest of us.

Do a search for abacus on YouTube. That's your answer. I learned math on an abacus, and I can still do relatively simple calculations in the air in front of me as if I was doing it on one. Asian cultures live with abaci from a very young age, and many videos on YouTube will show you that some of the most impressive math feats done by kids are done while they "finger out" the math on an invisible abacus.

Now where did I put mine...

16
posted on 02/22/2012 5:36:34 AM PST
by rarestia
(It's time to water the Tree of Liberty.)

I tutored black students in math. When they complained that math was too difficult, I told them that if they spent as much time practicing math as they did practicing jump shots, they'd be just as good at math as they were at basketball. The same message of hard work and discipline applies to all students, but someone must demand it.

RE :”I tutored black students in math. When they complained that math was too difficult, I told them that if they spent as much time practicing math as they did practicing jump shots, they'd be just as good at math as they were at basketball. The same message of hard work and discipline applies to all students, but someone must demand it........ ...... thats racist...!!!...wait...what ???”

This is the reason why we still need affirmative action. The system is rigged with institutional racism by operating with a ‘white value system’ that values math over basketball. Clearly these kids are well qualified for any job with their basketball experience. Time to 'level the playing field'.

Look at Obama. He never learned math but after only 3 years he saved our economy, just look at the news reports. He got millions off the unemployment rolls and onto the disability and food stamp rolls. He dint need no white math courses for that.

24
posted on 02/22/2012 6:25:26 AM PST
by sickoflibs
(You MUST support the lesser of two RINOs or we all die!)

He might have been counting occurrences of drinking a beer, not total quantity.

Buying soft drink in 2 liter bottles is usually more economical than buying a case of 12oz cans. However, the 2 liters usually “go flat” before one person will finish drinking them. Therefore I buy the case, knowing full well that the price per ounce is higher than that of a 2 liter bottle.

Your Redneck may have been operating on the same assumptions, just unable to articulate his reasoning to you.

BTW, I am a white boy of rural Georgia ethnicity.

;-)

26
posted on 02/22/2012 6:43:06 AM PST
by BwanaNdege
(Man has often lost his way, but modern man has lost his address - Gilbert K. Chesterton)

When I go to stores and the kid cashier says $4.61, I purposely give the .11 to confuse them. Fun to watch. Even better, last weekend I had a bill for $10.04 at a local restaurant. After giving the cashier (high school girl) $20, I said that I think I have the $0.04. I pulled out a quarter and gave it to her. After standing there for a bit, looking at the confused look on her face, I told her she needed to give me $10.21 back. Maybe I should have said $15.21?

Larger cans give the beer more time to get warm, so you throw away more and thus buy more. There’s other valid reasons, like less aluminium cost, but I’m going with the devious choice.

Which does nothing to explain the 18 packs of 8 oz cans of Bud I saw at Publix the other day. Have to admit, I immediately had to know how they compared to 12 packs. I suppose multiplying units by unit volumes would have been the obvious solution, but the way I see things an 8 oz can is 2/3 of a 12 oz can, so there would have to be 3/2 as many. Besides, I couldn’t multiply by 18 to save my life (multiply by twenty and knock off 10% I can do however). Math might be hard, but it’s easier when you cheat.

I would pay more for the 12 x 12 oz. than for 9 X 16 oz. because I would prefer to have 12 just-right servings over 9 slightly-too-large servings.

Of course, this guy will probably drink the 12-pk in a night (that’s the only use I can see for Miller Lite) rather than over a 2 or 3 month period, so that probably doesn’t apply. Maybe the 16 oz. cans don’t stay cold long enough to deaden the taste buds through the entire can, but the 12 oz cans do. So it could be that he just didn’t want to explain all of the variables and the calculus that went into his decision when you were just coming at him with simple multiplication. :-)

16 oz. is a pint. Two words: frozen mug. When I was a drinker, I used to keep a half dozen pint mugs in the freezer for parties. When Bud came out with 16 oz. aluminum bottles, I used to pour them into a mug. Problem solved. Being an alcoholic, I didn’t care about temperature.

That being said, I don’t think you should consider it “cheating” to use tricks for multiplication. I do it all the time. For large multiplication problems, I just break down the numbers. For instance, when working on carpentry using large boards, I have to sometimes do the math in my head. An 8 ft. board is 96 inches long. If I have to cover a certain linear distance, I can break that down by 8 and 12 and do the math accordingly. Or even 3 x 32. I think that’s the whole point to teaching kids math at a young age. If they can learn the “tricks” but still express the problems logically on paper, they’re going to excel.

I remember trying to teach my 9 year old cousin how to do long division. I think I used Pi as an example. He got frustrated after the first numeral after the decimal (3.1, in this case). He’d not learned much past whole numbers, a shock to me at 9, and so Pi would’ve been a handful to him. FWIW, I divided out Pi to 61 digits on paper when I was in 2nd grade. My math teacher gave me a pat on the head, and I learned what it meant to be a nerd after I got punched in the back by the class bully later that day.

PS... that bully now works as a stock boy at Best Buy. He’s also 32. I laugh.

36
posted on 02/22/2012 10:29:52 AM PST
by rarestia
(It's time to water the Tree of Liberty.)

Like I told Dearth Reardon: frozen mugs are your friend. In my drinking days, a 12 pack was a good start usually done by 3 PM if we started at noon. Then we’d change over to keg beer or Captain Morgan, depending on the evening plans.

The 16 oz. cans warm quicker, but I never drank from them. Like any canned beer, I always poured them into cold mugs. Aluminum transmits body heat too quick.

37
posted on 02/22/2012 10:33:29 AM PST
by rarestia
(It's time to water the Tree of Liberty.)

I do the same thing! They hate it. I like having larger coins, so I carrying around change when possible, esp. if traveling. Doesn’t it just fry you, though, that they can’t figure out this basic math?

Oh... my favorite story: went to Chili’s for dinner with the little lady one night. It was storming and Chili’s was one of the few places with power. We went to pay, and they told us, “Oh, the computers are down due to the storm, so we’re taking card numbers for later.”

I told the girl, “No problem, I have cash.”

You’d have thought I was paying with gold nugget. The bill was something like $36.80, and I gave her 2 $20 bills. First she came back with $4.20. I told her she was a dollar off. She came back with $5.20. I just shook my head and laughed. She called over her manager... she proceeded to argue with me that $4.20 was appropriate change. I was flummoxed.

Remember, I’m only 32. This manager looked older than me and even had issues with basic subtraction.

We’re doomed.

39
posted on 02/22/2012 10:37:57 AM PST
by rarestia
(It's time to water the Tree of Liberty.)

However, the 2 liters usually go flat before one person will finish drinking them

As far as soft drinks, I keep several rinsed smaller plastic bottles on hand, 12 ounce and 1 liter, and purchase the much less expensive 2 liter store brand sodas, especially when on sale. Upon opening a chilled 2 liter bottle, I transfer the contents into the smaller bottles discarding the 2 liter plastic bottle. Then drink as desired.

This allows me to purchase at less expense and avoid flat carbonated soft drinks. And even if a partial smaller bottle goes flat, all that is necessary is to top it off from a fresh 2 liter bottle. After all, the ingredients are still good, you just need the fizz.

So paying attention to price and product plus controlling portions can save you significant money with no compromise in quality. Sadly, today's math-ignorant kids are not capable of the simple calculations leading to these money-saving techniques.

41
posted on 02/22/2012 11:34:44 AM PST
by DakotaGator
(Weep for the lost Republic! And keep your powder dry!!)

After working with the cub scouts of our congregation, I am **convinced**! The only children in this county that are learning to read and do basic arithmetic are those kids who have parents that are doing **tons** of afterschooling IN THE HOME!

( Yeah! I am shouting! I am disgusted and exasperated. )

If there are any high standardized test scores in our county it is because of the hard work done by the parents and the kids themselves IN THE HOME! Of course, when kids do well the teachers and principals take the credit. When they do poorly they blame the parents. ( Go figure!) ( snort!)

46
posted on 02/22/2012 1:50:03 PM PST
by wintertime
(Reforming a government K-12 school is like reforming an abortion center.)

The main purpose of ice cold beer is to hide the fact that it's not very good. I prefer beers that taste better as they warm up a little after being poured from a bottle into a glass or mug. The only canned beer I have found that's worth drinking is Guiness with the nitrogen capsule - it's pretty darned close to Guiness in the pub in England (which I've heard is different from Guiness in the pub in Ireland, but I can't personnally atttest to that.

I’m a recovering alcoholic, so I’ve been on the wagon for some time. My beer of choice back in the day was Trois Pisoles. Fin du Monde was a close second. I only drank domestic light beers in college, for the most part, because, you’re right, they’re terrible once they’re warm.

49
posted on 02/23/2012 6:41:40 AM PST
by rarestia
(It's time to water the Tree of Liberty.)

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